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The Bodhisattva Maitreya
The Bodhisattva Maitreya

The Bodhisattva Maitreya

CultureGandharan
Date2nd century C.E.
MediumPhyllite with traces of paint
DimensionsOverall: 55 × 17 1/2 × 10 1/2 inches (139.7 × 44.45 × 26.67 cm)
Credit LinePurchase: William Rockhill Nelson Trust
Object number35-32
On View
On view
Collections
Exhibition History
No known exhibition history at this time.
Gallery Label
The future Buddha, Maitreya, is depicted here as a prince, the usual method of representing bodhisattvas (enlightened beings and Buddhas-tobe). His toga-like robe, his elaborately styled hair, and his jewelry reflect influences from Hellenistic Rome. His sharp features and muscular body are also inspired by Greek and Roman artistic sources.
Provenance

With Hagop Kevorkian (1872-1962), New York, by March 22, 1935 [1];

Purchased from Kevorkian by The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Kansas City, MO, 1935.

NOTES:

[1] Letter from J. C. Nichols, Nelson-Atkins Trustee, to Kevorkian, March 22, 1935, Nelson-Atkins Archives, RG01/01, Director's Office Records: Paul Gardner, 1932-53, Box 1, Folder 23, Kevorkian 1932-50.

Published References

Ross E. Taggart, ed., Handbook of the Collections in the William Rockhill Nelson Gallery of Art and Mary Atkins Museum of Fine Arts, 4th ed. (Kansas City, MO: William Rockhill Nelson Gallery of Art and Mary Atkins Museum of Fine Arts, 1959), 221, (repro.).

Carl Roebuch, The World of Ancient Times. (New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1966), 637, (repro.).

Ross E. Taggart and George L. McKenna, eds., Handbook of the Collections in The William Rockhill Nelson Gallery of Art and Mary Atkins Museum of Fine Arts, Kansas City, Missouri, vol. 2, Art of the Orient, 5th ed. (Kansas City, MO: William Rockhill Nelson Gallery of Art and Mary Atkins Museum of Fine Arts, 1973), 117, (repro.).

Roger Ward and Patricia J. Fidler, eds., The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art: A Handbook of the Collection (New York: Hudson Hills Press, in association with Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, 1993), 375, (repro.).

Deborah Emont Scott, ed., The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art: A Handbook of the Collection, 7th ed. (Kansas City, MO: Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, 2008), 256, (repro.).

Kimberly Masteller, “Arthur Upham Pope and Collecting Persian Art for Kansa City,” in Arthur Upham Pope and A New Survey of Persian Art (Leiden, Netherlands: Brill, 2016), fig. 10.1, (repro.).

Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art and Kimberly Masteller, Masterworks from India and Southeast Asia: the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art (Kanas City, Missouri: The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art in association with University of Washington Press, 2016), 32-33, (repro.).

Yuka Kadoi, ed., Arthur Upham Pope and a New Survey of Persian Art, vol. 10, Studies in Persian Cultural History (Leiden: Brill, 2016), (repro.).



Information about a particular artwork or image, including provenance information, is based upon historic information and may not be currently accurate or complete. Research on artwork and images is an ongoing process, and the information about a particular artwork or image may not reflect the most current information available to the Museum. If you notice a mistake or have additional information about a particular artwork or image, please e-mail provenance@nelson-atkins.org.